What causes "Specified Dockerfile path %s does not exist" in quarkusio/quarkus?

Fix the configured path: relative values are resolved from src/main, so use 'docker/Dockerfile' not 'src/main/docker/Dockerfile'

quarkusio/quarkus · error · IllegalArgumentException

Specified Dockerfile path %s does not exist

Error message

Specified Dockerfile path %s does not exist

What it means

ProvidedDockerfile.get() validates the Dockerfile configured via quarkus.container-image.docker.dockerfile-jvm-path (or -native-path). Relative paths are resolved against the main sources root; if the resolved (or absolute) path does not exist on disk, it throws this IllegalArgumentException with the absolute path in the message.

Source

Thrown at extensions/container-image/container-image-docker-common/deployment/src/main/java/io/quarkus/container/image/docker/common/deployment/CommonProcessor.java:432

            }

            return new AbstractMap.SimpleEntry<>(dockerfilesRoot, mainSourcesRoot.getValue());
        }
    }

    protected record ProvidedDockerfile(Path dockerfilePath, Path dockerExecutionPath) implements DockerfilePaths {
        protected static DockerfilePaths get(Path dockerfilePath, Path outputDirectory) {
            var mainSourcesRoot = findMainSourcesRoot(outputDirectory);

            if (mainSourcesRoot == null) {
                throw new IllegalStateException("Unable to determine project root");
            }

            var executionPath = mainSourcesRoot.getValue();
            var effectiveDockerfilePath = dockerfilePath.isAbsolute() ? dockerfilePath : executionPath.resolve(dockerfilePath);

            if (!effectiveDockerfilePath.toFile().exists()) {
                throw new IllegalArgumentException(
                        "Specified Dockerfile path %s does not exist".formatted(effectiveDockerfilePath.toAbsolutePath()));
            }

            return new ProvidedDockerfile(effectiveDockerfilePath, executionPath);
        }
    }
}

View on GitHub (pinned to e1c734241f)

Solutions

Fix the configured path: relative values are resolved from src/main, so use 'docker/Dockerfile' not 'src/main/docker/Dockerfile'
Verify the file exists at the absolute path printed in the error message
Use an absolute path in CI if the file lives outside the project
Correct typos/case-sensitivity in the filename

Example fix

# before (wrong base dir)
quarkus.container-image.docker.dockerfile-jvm-path=src/main/docker/Dockerfile.custom
# after
quarkus.container-image.docker.dockerfile-jvm-path=docker/Dockerfile.custom

Defensive patterns

Strategy: validation

Validate before calling

String configured = "src/main/docker/Dockerfile.custom"; // value of dockerfile-jvm-path
Path srcMain = Path.of("src/main");
Path effective = Paths.get(configured).isAbsolute() ? Paths.get(configured) : srcMain.resolve(configured);
if (!Files.isRegularFile(effective)) {
    throw new IllegalStateException("Configured Dockerfile not found at " + effective.toAbsolutePath());
}

Type guard

boolean configuredDockerfileExists(String path, Path sourcesRoot) {
    Path p = Paths.get(path);
    return (p.isAbsolute() ? p : sourcesRoot.resolve(p)).toFile().exists();
}

Try / catch

try {
    buildImage();
} catch (IllegalArgumentException e) {
    if (e.getMessage() != null && e.getMessage().contains("Specified Dockerfile path")) {
        // correct quarkus.container-image.docker.dockerfile-jvm-path and retry
    } else throw e;
}

Prevention

Remember relative dockerfile paths resolve from src/main, not the project root
Verify the configured file exists before running image builds (ls at the absolute path in the error)
Use absolute paths in CI when the Dockerfile lives outside the project
Avoid typos and keep filename case consistent (Linux is case-sensitive)

When it happens

Trigger: Setting quarkus.container-image.docker.dockerfile-jvm-path / dockerfile-native-path to a file that does not exist, a relative path that resolves to the wrong directory (it is relative to src/main, not the project root), or a typo in the filename.

Common situations: Assuming the path is relative to the project root when it is relative to src/main (so 'docker/Dockerfile' works but 'src/main/docker/Dockerfile' fails); renaming the file but not the config; absolute path pointing to a machine-specific location that is absent in CI.

Related errors

AI-assisted analysis of quarkusio/quarkus@e1c734241f (2026-09-05). Data as JSON: /api/errors/63926ac2d65bcb5d. Report an issue: GitHub.